1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of computer systems and, more particularly, to backup and retrieval of data in computer systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems and their components are subject to various failures which may result in the loss of data. For example, a storage device used in or by the computer system may experience a failure (e.g., mechanical, electrical, magnetic, etc.) which may make any data stored on that storage device unreadable. Erroneous software or hardware operation may corrupt the data stored on a storage device and effectively destroy the data stored on an otherwise properly functioning storage device. Any component in the storage chain between (and including) the storage device and the computer system may experience failure (e.g., the storage device, connectors [e.g., cables] between the storage device and other circuitry, the network between the storage device and the accessing computer system [in some cases], etc.).
To mitigate the risk of losing data, computer system users typically make backup copies of data stored on various storage devices. Typically, backup software is installed on a computer system, and the backup may be scheduled to occur periodically and automatically. Backups may also be initiated manually by a user or administrator of the computer system.
Second-host backup may allow use of a dedicated backup server to back up data owned and/or used by an application server. In doing so, the application server may be relieved of the overhead associated with the backup process. When the backed-up data is restored, however, the data may appear to originate from the backup server, not the application server. This incorrect linkage may complicate incremental and differential backups in the future.
To link the backed-up data with its original source, users of second-host backup systems might maintain an association between a backup set on a backup server and the server and/or volume from which that set originated. However, maintenance of such an association would be inconvenient even for the most technical of users.
Therefore, an improved system and method for performing second-host backup are desired.